Introduction: One Verse, a Whole World of Consolation
In the second chapter of the Megillah, amidst the most harrowing descriptions of the destruction, profound points of consolation lie concealed. In this lesson, we will delve into a single verse: "He severed in fierce anger every horn of Israel; He drew back His right hand before the enemy, and burned against Jacob like a flaming fire devouring all around." We will see how every single word in this sentence - "back," "all around," "in fierce anger" - carries within it a message of tidings, and how the Holy One, Blessed be He, even in the height of wrath, preserved for us a remnant of holiness from which the redemption will sprout.
גָּדַע בָּחֳרִי אַף כֹּל קֶרֶן יִשְׂרָאֵל, הֵשִׁיב אָחוֹר יְמִינוֹ מִפְּנֵי אוֹיֵב, וַיִּבְעַר בְּיַעֲקֹב כְּאֵשׁ לֶהָבָה אָכְלָה סָבִיב׃ - He severed in fierce anger every horn of Israel; He drew back His right hand before the enemy, and burned against Jacob like a flaming fire devouring all around.
"He Drew Back His Right Hand" - From the East to the Western Wall
Rabbi Yehonatan Eybeschutz shares a wonderful insight. It is known that Scripture speaks of "back and front" (achor ve-kedem), such as in the verse, "You formed me back and front." What does kedem mean? Eastward, east. Avraham Avinu gave gifts to the concubines' sons and sent them "eastward, to the land of Kedem." The HaEmek Davar explains: the furthest east - not the near east, but the Far East. And there, in the Far East, reside all the forces of impurity, the use of demons, and all such practices. Our Sages teach that Avraham transmitted to them an impure name so they could utilize demons for their needs. Incidentally, before performing sorcery they recite "abra ca-dabra," which in Aramaic means "what Avraham spoke." The question of whether non-Jews are permitted to use names of impurity, and whether this involves heresy, is addressed in the sefer Mishnat HaChalomot. This is mentioned merely as an aside, to establish that kedem signifies the east.
And if kedem is east, then achor ("back") is west. Accordingly, understand what is written here. The "right hand" of the Holy One, Blessed be He, refers to the bestowal of His lovingkindness, and where did it rest? In the Holy of Holies, oriented toward the front. "He drew back His right hand" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, shifted it from the east to the west, to the Western Wall. That tremendous holiness that was in the aspect of kedem (east) became in the aspect of achor (west). This is what King David says in Tehillim: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its skill]" - if you think Jerusalem has been forgotten and that the Shechinah has abandoned it entirely, it is a sign that you have forgotten the right hand of the Holy One, Blessed be He, which was drawn back, that is, to the west, to the Western Wall. "He drew back His right hand before the enemy" - because of the enemy, the Shechinah withdrew from the east to the west, but it still rests there; there is still a measure of vitality (kista de-chiyuta) present.
The Luz Bone of Jerusalem
As explained previously, this concept of a diminished presence of the Shechinah is analogous to what is written regarding the death of the body. When the body dies, a small spark of vitality remains within the luz bone - which has several names, such as "Niskoi" and "Betuel." (Those interested can listen to the lessons on the Prophets regarding the conquest of Luz, where there is an entire class on the luz bone, its function, and its names.) The luz bone is the place where a vestige of vitality remains, from which, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, revives the body in the future, it will expand, take root, and resurrect the entire body. So it is written in the holy books: the Holy One, Blessed be He, left a measure of the Shechinah at the Western Wall, and this is the aspect of the luz bone - the holy Shechinah from which, when the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, the Divine Presence will spread out and grant life to the entire House.
The Imprint of Holiness and the Forces of Impurity
After holiness departs, a spirit of impurity arrives. This is a concept found extensively in Kabbalah: when holiness is present in a place, it does not depart completely; rather, an imprint (reshimu) of that holiness remains. And this imprint causes the forces of impurity to subsequently come and suckle from it, drawing vitality from there.
This is elaborated at length by the holy Or HaChaim in Parashat Chukat, regarding the Red Heifer. He asks: Why does the law of tent impurity (tumat ohel) not apply to a non-Jew? "When a man dies in a tent" - this applies only to Israel, whereas a non-Jew does not transmit impurity in a tent. Yet the most severe impurity is the impurity of a corpse (tumat meit); how can it be that it is absent specifically by a non-Jew, while holy Israel transmits this severe impurity? He offers a famous parable of two jars: one contained water and the other honey. When both are emptied, where do the flies swarm? To the honey. That is precisely the difference.
A non-Jew's soul - and the word nefesh is used deliberately, as he does not possess a ruach and neshamah - is an animalistic soul of a lower order, from the sitra achra, in the aspect of a vehicle for impurity. (One who wishes to understand the levels of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah can consult the sefer Mishnat HaGilgulim, where this is treated at length.) The people of Israel, by contrast - "when the Most High gave nations their inheritance," the Holy One, Blessed be He, separated us from the nations, and their souls originate from the quarry of souls beneath the Throne of Glory, a quarry of holy souls, stemming from Adam HaRishon who was in the aspect of holiness. Therefore, they possess nefesh, ruach, and neshamah - three spiritual tiers - as well as chayah and yechidah, which are even higher levels, in the aspect of "one who blows, blows from his innermost self." This belongs uniquely to the people of Israel.
When such a soul dwells within a person, there is holiness inside him. And when it departs, all the forces of ritual impurity come to attach and cling to it, seeking to nourish themselves from the immense holiness that once resided in this body. That is why it is specifically when a Jew dies that forces of impurity are present. Whereas when a gentile dies - what is there to interest them? There is no remaining holiness for them to draw from, and therefore he does not transmit ritual impurity.
The Impurity of Childbirth and the Impurity of Niddah
Based on this same principle, the impurity of childbirth was previously explained. Why does a woman who gives birth become ritually impure, and why in differing degrees for a male and a female - one week or two weeks, thirty-three days or sixty-six? Because at the moment of birth there is a resting of the Shechinah: Chazal teach that three keys were not handed over to an emissary, one of which is the key of childbirth, entrusted solely to the Holy One, Blessed is He. That is one aspect. The second aspect is that she carried a fetus in her womb, and when it emerged, this is an aspect of death: life was present here, and that life is no longer there. Both aspects - the departure of the Holy One, Blessed is He, Who was present here, and the departure of the holy soul that was in her womb - leave behind an impression (reshimu) of holiness. The external forces come to nourish themselves from this residue, and this is the source of the impurity upon her.
The same applies to the impurity of niddah. During those weeks when the woman is pure, there is potential for life - not just theoretical potential, but a tangible reality: if brought to fruition, new life and a holy soul will be formed here. When that potential is not realized, it is washed away and departs with the uterine lining and blood, which is a process of death. That vitality and holiness that could have come into being here were not realized, and have departed. Since this is so, the forces of impurity immediately arrive to draw from the residue left behind by the immense potential that was once here, and that is the impurity of niddah.
This is the concept of tumah, as explained several times. Incidentally, this is also why when a person dies - even a wicked person - anyone present at the moment the soul departs is obligated to perform the tear of mourning (keriah) right then. Although halachic sources note that some were lenient about this - because there were people who, upon seeing a dying person about to pass away, would flee to spare their suit from being torn, so authorities were lenient so people would not run away and would stay with the deceased in his final moments - nevertheless, Chazal state that a dying person is like a burning Sefer Torah. Just as one who sees a Sefer Torah burn must tear his garment, so too upon a death. That is to say, the soul is holy, and its departure mandates tearing one's garment - and from that departure the forces of impurity subsequently arrive.
"My Spikenard Sent Forth Its Fragrance" - The Cherished Bond Remains
Having understood this, we can understand: had the Shechinah departed entirely from Jerusalem, the Sitra Achra (the "Other Side") would immediately have taken control of the Temple Mount and Jerusalem, since wherever holiness once dwelled and then vanished, the forces of impurity come to draw from its residue. But "my spikenard sent forth its fragrance" - Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz explains that this is not meant in the simple literal sense (as a euphemism for foul odor), but rather "sent forth its fragrance" means that the cherished bond still remains with us; a pleasant fragrance still lingers. There was an abundance of sweet fragrance here; we ruined much, yet a bit of fragrance still remained. And this is that precious bond - that the Shechinah still rests slightly in Jerusalem, for the Shechinah has never departed from the Western Wall.
Had the Shechinah departed completely, a church would have been built on the Temple Mount. Why is there a mosque there today rather than a church? Because a mosque belongs to people who worship Hashem - in a flawed manner, but they worship Hashem. It is permitted to enter a mosque, whereas it is forbidden to enter a church, which is outright idolatry. On the contrary, great Torah sages remarked that it is beneficial that a mosque stands there until the coming of the Mashiach: first, so that Christians would not establish a church there, which would place actual idolatry on the Temple Mount, an incomparably graver matter; and second, to prevent Jews from entering there. For there was a serious concern that once the Temple Mount was under our control, tours of the Mount would begin, and entering the Temple Mount, Heaven spare us, incurs the penalty of kares. Thus, it is Hashem's kindness toward us that the Shechinah remained there, for had holiness receded entirely, all the forces of impurity would have descended immediately. This is the meaning of "He drew back His right hand before the enemy": the Holy One, Blessed is He, acted with the attribute of chessed toward us, in that the Shechinah, which had been in the front - in the east of the courtyard, in the Holy of Holies - He withdrew backward, to the west, causing it to dwell at the Western Wall rather than removing it entirely. By doing so, the forces of impurity were prevented from overpowering the place of the Temple.
A Supplementary Point: The Soul of a Convert and of an Israelite
It is important to emphasize: what was said about a gentile having a nefesh from the Sitra Achra applies only as long as he has not converted. Once he converts, he receives at the time of conversion a new soul belonging to the level of Israel. That is why Chazal said, "A convert who converts is like a newborn child." He is completely new; what remains of him? Only the body. All the inner systems are new. You may look at the car's bodywork and say it is the same vehicle because the license plate is the same, but everything inside is completely different. The essence of a person is the soul, not the body and not the hat. Therefore, by biblical law, a gentile man and his sister who convert may marry one another, as may a father and his daughter, because they are no longer brother and sister or father and daughter; they are new souls and are not related at all. Why is this not practiced in reality? Lest people say: "We have come from a strict level of holiness to a lenient one," for as a gentile this was forbidden to him, and now in Judaism it is permitted? Therefore the Sages forbade it, but the prohibition is rabbinic. In truth, they are no longer father and child, brother and sister, but entirely new souls. For this same reason, the souls of the Jewish people flew away at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai: to enter the status of Israel, a new soul is required, and therefore their soul of gentile status departed, and they received a new soul - a complete spiritual structure of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, which is the level of Israel.
"And He Burned in Jacob" - Why Jacob Specifically Feels It
The Midrash in Eichah Rabbah states: Any misfortune that befalls Israel is felt only by Jacob. What is the reason? "And He burned in Jacob." And any good that comes upon Israel is felt only by Jacob, as it is written: "Let Jacob exult, let Israel be glad."
Rabbi Shmuel de Uceda, author of Lechem Dim'ah, notes an intriguing precision here. Notice that the Sages shifted their wording: regarding the tragedy, they asked, "Mai ta'ama" (what is the reason?), whereas regarding the goodness, they said, "Hada hu dich'tiv" (this is as it is written). If these appeared in separate contexts, we would not scrutinize it; but when within the very same sentence one is introduced with "what is the reason?" and the other with "this is as it is written," the matter requires careful contemplation.
The Lechem Dim'ah explains: regarding tragedy, proof from a verse is not enough; one also needs a rationale. Why is it specifically Yaakov who feels it more keenly than Yitzchak, Avraham, and the rest of the Patriarchs? Therefore, the author of the Midrash asks, "What is the reason?" And the answer: "And it burned in Yaakov like a flaming fire that devoured all around." There is a fundamental difference between Yaakov and Avraham and Yitzchak. Avraham and Yitzchak had other sons, leaving an area that the fire did not reach: Avraham still had Yishmael, and we see that Avraham cared for him - "If only Yishmael might live before You." Yitzchak still had Eisav, whom he also loved. Who was the only one left with nothing? Yaakov. "Devoured all around" - it consumed everything around him and left nothing behind. This is the reason Yaakov feels it more than anyone else: with him, the fire consumed everything surrounding him.
Once Chazal have taught us how agonizing the tragedy is for Yaakov Avinu, there is no longer any need to ask "what is the reason?" regarding the joy. The reason is already clear: Yaakov has no other offspring; his sons are his entire world - and therefore he is the one who feels both the tragedy and the good fortune. All that remained was to bring a scriptural proof that it is indeed Yaakov who rejoices, and to this they stated: "This is as it is written: 'Let Yaakov exult, let Yisrael rejoice.'"
"Like a Flaming Fire That Devoured All Around" - Prolonged Suffering
The author of Lechem Dim'ah adds: when someone wishes to intensify the agony of a person being burned, Heaven spare us, they distance the fire from him and let it burn around him. His death is then slow, accompanied by dreadful, horrific, and protracted agony, and his soul does not depart easily. As we find with Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon, upon whom they placed tufts of wool soaked in water as they ignited the fire, so that he would first be slowly scalded, Heaven protect us, and only later would his soul depart - and he asked that they remove the sponges. This is what the verse means: our afflictions during the destruction of Yerushalayim were of this nature, "and it burned in Yaakov like a fire that devoured all around" - prolonged, grueling suffering, like someone surrounded by fire rather than burned directly within it. Had he been burned directly inside it, his soul would have departed within a minute; but for us, the fire burned slowly, and the agony was felt with immense, terrible intensity.
The Back and the Left - Where the Klipot Take Hold
It is well known from the holy Ari that the primary grip of the klipot (forces of impurity) is in the realm of the achor (the posterior or back dimension). Incidentally, this is also true in the human body, reflecting the verse "From my flesh I shall see God": the place from which human excretion and impurity exit is the posterior side, and that is where the klipot have a hold - which is why if a person has excrement at the orifice, he cannot speak words of Torah, recite a blessing, or anything of the sort.
Based on this, the Maharal Tzuntz explains in Melo HaOmer: at the time of the Churban, when the attribute of strict justice prevailed, the klipot grew stronger and their dominion over us increased. For when discussing chesed (kindness) and gevurah (severity), gevurot are the root of judgment - "chesed is the right arm, gevurah is the left arm" - and judgments emerge from the aspect of the left. Consequently, when the klipot and gevurot gain a grip, the left and the back unite, making their dominion immense. Yet the Holy One, blessed be He, in His abundant mercy, "turned His right hand backward" - He redirected the right, the attribute of chesed, toward the back, thereby preventing the forces of impurity from taking hold and clinging to the Jewish people. For had they clung to us, complete annihilation would have ensued, Heaven forbid.
This is what the lamenter is saying: even though the force of impurity was such that "it burned in Yaakov like a flaming fire," and ostensibly when a flaming fire burns it consumes everything and total destruction should have resulted - nevertheless, see what happened: it only "devoured all around." It failed to consume the inner essence, reaching only the perimeter, as it is written, "The wicked walk all around" - around, but not within. The interior and inner core remained unharmed, because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not allow the forces of impurity to take hold of Israel's posterior, but instead strengthened the forces of chesed there. Through this, although there was an aspect of achor, the Jewish people survived and were not completely destroyed.
"He Cut Down in Fierce Anger" - Anger, Not Rejection
The author of Yismach Moshe says: amidst all the harsh words written here, there is great tidings for the Jewish people. Reish Lakish states at the conclusion of Midrash Rabbah on the verse, "For even if You have utterly rejected us, You have been exceedingly wrathful with us": if the Holy One, blessed be He, cast us away because He detested us, we would have no hope, Heaven forbid - a woman whose husband has come to loathe her has no hope. But if "You have been wrathful with us," if it is mere wrath, there remains hope for repentance and return. For it is the nature of an angry person to initially flare up in heat, and subsequently the anger subsides and quiets down - and then, "Renew our days as of old."
In light of this, we can understand the verse: "He cut down in fierce anger": everything the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon us was not out of revulsion, but "in fierce anger," out of wrath. And if it is anger - thank God, anger is destined to calm and subside, and then we will return to our former state: "Bring us back to You, Hashem, and we will return; renew our days as of old." And this is the meaning of "every horn of Yisrael" - in this itself we have a "horn," in the sense of "He has raised a horn for His people." This is the horn we can cling to: even though He cut down - "He cut down in fierce anger," a cutting down of anger rather than revulsion. If so, this constitutes an elevation of Israel's horn; we have something to hold on to, knowing that our horn will rise once again and our days will be renewed as of old.
He Poured Out His Wrath on Wood and Stone
The sins of the Jewish people led the nations to seek their destruction, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, in His abundant mercy, poured out His wrath on wood and stone; instead of the Jewish people being destroyed, the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed. It follows that all of our merits had to be mobilized here so that the calamity would fall not upon us, but upon the Beit HaMikdash. This is the meaning of "He withdrew His right hand": the Holy One, Blessed be He, was meant to shield us with His right hand, yet He withdrew His right hand and did not protect us - "from before the enemy." And what was the outcome? The Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, "like a flaming fire consuming all around," as it is written, "For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his dwelling place": instead of devouring Jacob, the Holy One, Blessed be He, ensured that they would lay waste his dwelling place - let My House be destroyed, but let My people not be destroyed.
The Parable of the Ben Ish Chai: The Knocked-Off Hat
The Ben Ish Chai shares a wonderful parable. Two friends saw a man in the town square pouring and selling drinks, wearing his hat tilted at an angle, in the dandified style of someone full of self-importance. It bothered them that he carried himself with such haughtiness and vanity, and they decided to mock him. One said, "Look at how he dresses, as if he were a model in the city square." The second said, "And on top of that, he is bald! What does he have to be proud of?" The first said, "Watch how I knock his hat off right now without him being able to do a thing about it." His friend asked him, "How? The moment you go to knock off his hat, he will grab you." He replied, "Just wait." He approached the vendor and asked him to pour a cup of drink. With one hand the vendor held the cup and with the other hand the pitcher, and at that very moment when both his hands were occupied, the fellow knocked off his hat. The vendor could do nothing but grit his teeth, for what could he do? Drop the cup? Drop the pitcher? Both his hands were full. And everyone burst into laughter at the humiliation of the man who thought so highly of himself.
The lesson: The enemy came to destroy the Jewish people. What was the Jewish people to do? Mobilize all its mitzvot, gather all its merits to defend itself against the enemy. For as Chazal said: When a person is led to the scaffold to be judged, he is told, "Produce merits and be acquitted." When the enemy rises against us, we are required to produce merits. Yet the Holy One, Blessed be He, in order to prevent the enemy from wiping us out, utilized our merits for what purpose? So that the Beit HaMikdash would be destroyed, rather than the Jewish people being destroyed, Heaven forbid. Those very merits then caused our hat to be knocked off - the Beit HaMikdash was taken from us; "He cut off in fierce anger" the crown of our head, which is the Beit HaMikdash. But the Jewish people itself was not destroyed or harmed, surviving because its mitzvot were utilized to shield them rather than the Temple.
In summary: Within a single difficult verse - "He cut off in fierce anger all the horn of Israel, He withdrew His right hand from before the enemy, and He burned in Jacob like a flaming fire consuming all around" - we find three consolations. "He withdrew His right hand" - the Shechinah did not depart completely, but moved from the east, from the Holy of Holies, to the west, to the Kotel, like the luz bone from which life will be renewed, and through its power the forces of impurity did not take control of the site of the Temple. "Consuming all around" - the fire consumed only what was on the periphery, not the inner essence, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, turned the right hand of chessed toward the rear and prevented the forces of impurity from taking hold of us. And "in fierce anger" - not revulsion or disgust, but anger, and anger ultimately subsides. Even the destruction itself was an act of chessed: instead of destroying His people, the Holy One, Blessed be He, destroyed His House - "for they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his dwelling place." Therefore, even in the depths of mourning, we pray: "Return us to You, Hashem, and we shall return; renew our days as of old."